Miss Vicky Wine
Anne-Victoire Monrozier's (AKA Miss Vicky) didn’t grow up with dreams of making wine – no, she studied psychology in Paris instead. It wasn’t until her father, Gilles, took over the family winery in 2005 that Vicky quickly went from spending holiday time there to creating her own line of fresh, fruit-orientated, elegant, irresistible wines.
Vicky is now the fifth generation winemaker, continuing her family's story at Château des Moriers. The family estate, located in the north-eastern part of the region in Cru Fleurie, borders the Cru of Moulin-à-Vent (prior to an administrative re-drawing of demarcation lines, it was actually located in Moulin-à-Vent). The winey encompasses nine hectares of ancient soils comprised mostly of pink granite with a sandy vein… a soil type that’s particularly suited to the Gamay grape.
Many of the wines of Fleurie have a prettiness, a soft florality when compared to other Beaujolais appellations, but some of the more powerful examples tend to come from close to the border with northerly neighbor Moulin-à-Vent. Miss Vicky wines are a lovely mix of the two.
Q &A with Miss Vicky
When making wines for your label, what do you do differently that makes them stand out from others produced in your family?
Vicky's wines usually have an easier style, with this I mean a lighter body and more fruits in the aromas. They are wines easy to love. This said, of course we remain on the great terroir of Les Moriers, with its elegant style.
If you are not drinking your own wines, what do you drink?
I don't have a favourite. I love doing blind tasting and discovering something different.
What is your favorite pairing?
Sauternes and a hot Indian curry. It's a magical match.
Do you have a favorite vintage that you have made?
I really love 2019, it's light and smooth yet elegant. It opened up at a very early stage of life and I can't wait to see what it will give.
What should we expect from the 2020 vintage?
The wine in the bottle has two years aging more and 20% of oak barrel aging. You can't feel the wood but it gives structure to the wine and the aging brings spice and earthy flavour
How do you KNOW when you have a particularly good vintage?
It's often the grapes that speak, their size, quality, ripeness. It's all coming from the fruit after all.
What is one of the hardest things about winemaking year in and year out?
The climate tantrum. You can have a beautiful vintage, have done everything right, and here it comes, a hail storm!
How is the 2023 harvest looking – differences from previous years?
It's dramatically different. We rarely had a wet July as it was and such a hot end of the summer. For us it's a difficult vintage. We are organic now, and it's never easy in a hot and humid context. The summer was a lot of work, and at the end we have great juice but it's scarce. Others had many more grapes though; it will be a unique story for each of us.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
WINE BLEND VINE AGE SOIL TYPE VINEYARD SIZE
VINI/VITI
- All grapes are harvested by hand
- Vinification is natural, including whole-cluster fermentation before pressing
- Fermentation takes place mainly in cement tanks
- Aged in a combination of concrete tank and 4-5 year old 400L barrels
- Wine is bottled with minimum filtering to allow safe travels and clarity
MISC
Kermit Lynch said it best when he said, “This is not simply a Fleurie, it is Fleurie “Les Moriers,” and Les Moriers is a steep vineyard that penetrates down into the Moulin-à-Vent zone. The result is like a marriage of the two. That explosive, floral Fleurie character emerges from an intense, regal, tannic, Moulin-à-Vent chassis. It is loaded with flavor and has an intense palate feel.”
So, if you're looking for a wine that's a perfect blend of pretty and powerful, look no further than Miss Vicky's wine.